1.
Osaka Prefecture
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Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka and it is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. Osaka is one of the two prefectures of Japan, Kyoto being the other. Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Osaka prefecture was known as Kawachi, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture was created on June 21,1868, at the very beginning of the Meiji era. During the instigation of Fuhanken Sanchisei in 1868, the received its suffix fu. On September 1,1956, the city of Osaka was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance, in 2000, Fusae Ota became Japans first female governor when she replaced Knock Yokoyama, who resigned after prosecution for sexual harassment. On April 1,2006, the city of Sakai was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance, in 2008, Tōru Hashimoto, previously famous as a counselor on television, was elected at the age of 38 as the youngest governor in Japan. In the 2011 local elections the association was able to win the majority of the prefectural seats, the plan was narrowly defeated in the 2015 referendum. Osaka Prefecture neighbors the prefectures of Hyōgo and Kyoto in the north, Nara in the east, the west is open to Osaka Bay. The Yodo and Yamato Rivers flow through the prefecture, prior to the construction of Kansai International Airport, Osaka was the smallest prefecture in Japan. The artificial island on which the airport was built added enough area to make it larger than Kagawa Prefecture. This represented approximately 48% of the Kinki region, the per capita income was ¥3.0 million, seventh in the nation. Commercial sales the year was ¥60.1 trillion. Overshadowed by such globally renowned electronics giants as Panasonic and Sharp, the number of SMEs based in Osaka in 2006 was 330,737, accounting for 99. 6% of the total number of businesses in the prefecture. The Osaka Securities Exchange, specializing in such as Nikkei 225 Futures, is based in Osaka. There are many electrical, chemical, pharmaceutical, heavy industry, food, and housing companies in Osaka Prefecture. According to the 2005 Population Census of Japan, Osaka prefecture has a population of 8,817,166, as of 2013 this prefecture has about 200,000 ethnic Korean persons, the largest such population of any prefecture in Japan. As of 2013 most ethnic Korean children attend ordinary Japanese public schools, although some Korean schools operated by the Chongryon, during the Japanese rule of Korea many ethnic Koreans came to the Osaka area to look for work

2.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon

3.
Cherry blossom
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A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is called sakura after the Japanese. Currently it is distributed, especially in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan, China, Korea, Europe, West Siberia, India, Canada. Along with the chrysanthemum, the blossom is considered the national flower of Japan. Many of the varieties that have cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium, Cherry blossom are also closely related to other Prunus trees such as the almond, peach, plum and apricot and more distantly to apples, pears and roses. Hanami is the practice of picnicking under a blooming sakura or ume tree. The custom is said to have started during the Nara Period when it was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning, but by the Heian Period, cherry blossoms came to attract more attention and hanami was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in both waka and haiku, flowers meant cherry blossoms, the custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts, the blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in numbers at parks, shrines. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the blossom and for many are a chance to relax. The custom of hanami dates back centuries in Japan. The eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century AD, most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them. Since the fiscal and school year both begin in April, in parts of Honshū, the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season. The Japan Cherry Blossom Association developed a list of Japans Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots with at least one location in every prefecture, the association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga. There is at least one popular song, originally meant for the shakuhachi, titled Sakura

4.
Rose
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A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over a species and thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies, Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has used in the development of the wide range of garden roses. The leaves are borne alternately on the stem, most roses are deciduous but a few are evergreen or nearly so. The flowers of most species have five petals, with the exception of Rosa sericea, each petal is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink, though in a few species yellow or red. Beneath the petals are five sepals and these may be long enough to be visible when viewed from above and appear as green points alternating with the rounded petals. There are multiple superior ovaries that develop into achenes, the aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry-like structure called a rose hip. Many of the domestic cultivars do not produce hips, as the flowers are so tightly petalled that they do not provide access for pollination, the hips of most species are red, but a few have dark purple to black hips. Each hip comprises an outer layer, the hypanthium, which contains 5–160 seeds embedded in a matrix of fine. Rose hips of some species, especially the dog rose and rugosa rose, are rich in vitamin C. The hips are eaten by fruit-eating birds such as thrushes and waxwings, some birds, particularly finches, also eat the seeds. While the sharp objects along a stem are commonly called thorns. Rose prickles are typically sickle-shaped hooks, which aid the rose in hanging onto other vegetation growing over it. Despite the presence of prickles, roses are frequently browsed by deer, a few species of roses have only vestigial prickles that have no points. Hesperrhodos contains Rosa minutifolia and Rosa stellata, from North America, platyrhodon with one species from east Asia, Rosa roxburghii

5.
Sister city
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In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities. In the United Kingdom, the twin towns is most commonly used. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are twin towns, partnership towns, partner towns, the European Commission uses the term twinned towns and refers to the process as town twinning. Spain uses the term ciudades hermanadas that means sister cities, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic use Partnerstadt / Miasto Partnerskie / Partnerské město, which translate as Partner Town or City. France uses Ville Jumelée, and Italy has Gemellaggio and Comune gemellato, in the Netherlands, the term is Stedenband. In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση has been adopted, in Iceland, the terms vinabæir and vinaborgir are used. In the former Soviet Bloc, twin towns and twin cities are used, the Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term sister cities or twin cities. In China, the term is 友好城市, sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju-do in South Korea. The Douzelage is a twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. In recent years, the term city diplomacy has gained increased usage and acceptance, particularly as a strand of paradiplomacy and public diplomacy. It is formally used in the workings of the United Cities and Local Governments, the importance of cities developing their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent has also been highlighted by the World Economic Forum. The earliest known town twinning in Europe was between Paderborn, Germany, and Le Mans, France, in 836, starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux. The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the First World War and this was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town, formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding, for example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation sent five leading citizens on a mission to Hanover. Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with an enemy city – Düsseldorf. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with other, following the motto, Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union, the support scheme was established in 1989

6.
Newport News, Virginia
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Newport News is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 180,719, in 2013, the population was estimated to be 183,412, making it the fifth-most populous city in Virginia. Newport News is included in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, the area now known as Newport News was once a part of Warwick County. Warwick County was one of the eight original shires of Virginia, formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I, the county was largely composed of farms and undeveloped land until almost 250 years later. In 1881,15 years of development began under the leadership of Collis P. With the new railroad came a terminal and coal piers where the colliers were loaded, within a few years, Huntington and his associates also built a large shipyard. In 1896, the new incorporated town of Newport News, which had briefly replaced Denbigh as the county seat of Warwick County, had a population of 9,000. In 1958, by mutual consent by referendum, Newport News was consolidated with the former Warwick County, the more widely known name of Newport News was selected as they formed what was then Virginias third largest independent city in population. The location on the harbor and along the James River facilitates a large boating industry which can take advantage of its miles of waterfront. Newport News also serves as a junction between the rails and the sea with the Newport News Marine Terminals located at the East End of the city. Served by major east-west Interstate Highway 64, it is linked to others of the cities of Hampton Roads by the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway, part of the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in the city limits. The original area near the mouth of the James River was first referred to as Newportes Newes as early as 1621, the source of the name Newport News is not known with certainty. Several versions are recorded, and it is the subject of popular speculation locally, the new governor ordered them to turn around, and return to Jamestown. Under this theory, the community was named for Newports good news, another possibility is that the community may have derived its name from an old English word news meaning new town. At least one source claims that the New arose from the settlements being rebuilt after a fire. Another source gave the name as New Port Newce, named for a person with the name Newce. The namesake, Sir William Newce, was an English soldier, there he had established Newcestown near Bandon, County Cork. He sailed to Virginia with Sir Francis Wyatt in October 1621 and was granted 2,500 acres of land and his brother, Capt. Thomas Newce, was given 600 acres at Kequatan, now called Elizabeth Cittie

7.
Oakville, Ontario
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Oakville is a suburban town in southern Ontario, located in Halton Region on Lake Ontario, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the most densely-populated areas of Canada. The 2016 census reported a population of 193,832, in 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road. In 1807, British immigrants settled the area surrounding Dundas Street as well as on the shore of Lake Ontario, in 1820, the Crown bought the area surrounding the waterways. The area around the creeks,960 acres, ceded to the Crown by the Mississaugas, was auctioned off to William Chisholm in 1827 and he left the development of the area to his son, Robert Kerr Chisholm and his brother-in-law, Merrick Thomas. Chisholm also formed shipbuilding business in Oakville Navy Street and Sixteen Mile Creek and lasted until 1842, Oakvilles first industries included shipbuilding, timber shipment, and wheat farming. In the 1850s, there was a recession and the foundry. Basket-making became an industry in the town, and the Grand Trunk Railway was built through it. In 1962 the town of Oakville merged with its villages to become the new Town of Oakville. In 1973, the restructuring of Halton County into Halton Region brought the northern border southwards to just north of the future Highway 407, Oakvilles Planning Department divides the town into communities. These divisions have little to do with politics and are based on traditional neighbourhoods, According to the 2016 Canadian Census, Oakville had 193,832 residents. This represents a 6. 2% increase since the 2011 Census, According to the 2006 census, Oakville had a younger population than Canada as a whole. Minors totalled 28.1 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 11.7 percent and this compares with the Canadian average of 24.4 percent and 13.7 percent. As of 2006,81. 2% of the population was white. Other groups include South Asian,6. 0%, Chinese,3. 2%, black,2. 1%, polish is the native language for 1. 5% of the population, followed by Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. 79. 4% of residents stated their religion as Christian, almost evenly split between Roman Catholics and Protestants, non-Christian religions include Islam,2. 0%, Hinduism,1. 3%, Sikhism,1. 1%, and Judaism,0. 7%. The median household income is $118,671, with an average value of $1,118,572. Like much of Southern Ontario, Oakville has a Humid Continental Climate with cold, Oakville has a long history of sporting. The Oakville Blue Devils of Canadian Soccer League is a professional soccer team

8.
Keihan Electric Railway
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Keihan Electric Railway Co. Ltd. is a Japanese railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. It is known as Keihan, Keihan Dentetsu or Keihan Densha, Keihan started its operation between Osaka and Kyoto in 1910. It was the first electric railway to connect these two cities, and the first line on the bank of Yodo River. Keihan later purchased the lines in the Ōtsu area, in the 1920s, Keihan built another Osaka-Kyoto line through its subsidiary Shinkeihan Railway, which merged into Keihan in 1930. This line is now known as Hankyu Kyoto Line, in 1943, with the power given by the Land Transport Business Coordination Act, the wartime government of Japan forced Keihan to merge with Hanshin Kyūkō Railway to form Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway. In 1949, the pre-war Keihan operations, except for Shinkeihan lines, Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway later changed the name to present Hankyu Railway. The lines operated by Keihan are grouped into Keihan Lines and Ōtsu Lines, the former operates between Kyoto and Osaka with long formation of larger rolling stock. The latter runs Kyoto and Ōtsu with more tram-like cars, the entire network has 1,435 mm standard gauge double track. As of January 1,2009, IC cards are accepted on the Keihan Lines and the Otsu Lines, the fare rate was changed on April 1,2014 to reflect the change in the rate of consumption tax from 5% to 8%. 200 yen The name Keihan is derived from the words Kyoto, the characters for Kyoto are 京都 and Osakas are 大阪. The first character from Kyoto and the second from Osaka make 京阪, Keihan also operates other businesses such as bus, taxi, water bus, hotel, department store and amusement park, mainly in the area along its railway system. Keihan Cable Line Keihan Electric Railway Keihan Electric Railway

9.
West Japan Railway Company
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West Japan Railway Company, also referred to as JR-West, is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka, Hokuriku Shinkansen Sanyo Shinkansen Hakata Minami Line JR-Wests highest-grossing line is the Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed rail line between Osaka and Fukuoka. The Sanyo Shinkansen alone accounts for about 40% of JR-Wests passenger revenues, the company also operates Hakata Minami Line, a short commuter line with Shinkansen trains in Fukuoka. The Urban Network is JR-Wests name for its rail lines in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. These lines together comprise 610 km of track, have 245 stations, Urban Network stations are equipped to handle ICOCA fare cards. Train control on these lines is highly automated, and during peak hours trains run as often as two minutes. JR-Wests Urban Network competes with a number of commuter rail operators around Osaka, the Big 4 being Hankyu Railway/Hanshin Railway, Keihan Railway, Kintetsu. JR-Wests market share in the region is roughly equal to that of the Big 4 put together, largely due to its comprehensive network and those in italics are announcement names. These lines mainly handle business and leisure travel between cities and rural areas in western Japan. They account for about 20% of the companys passenger revenues, fukuchiyama Line Includes JR Takarazuka Line. Hakubi Line Hokuriku Main Line Includes Biwako Line, honshi-Bisan Line, Chayamachi — Kojima Nicknamed Seto-Ōhashi Line Kansai Main Line, Kameyama — JR Namba Includes Yamatoji Line. Kisei Main Line, Shingū — Wakayamashi Includes Kinokuni Line, sanin Main Line Includes Sagano Line. Sanyō Main Line, Kobe — Shimonoseki, Hyōgo — Wadamisaki, takayama Main Line, Inotani — Toyama Tōkaidō Main Line, Maibara — Kobe Includes Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line, and JR Kobe Line. Initially, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the JNR Settlement Corporation, for the first four years of its existence, JR-West leased its highest-revenue line, the Sanyō Shinkansen, from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion JPY in long-term payable debt, JNRSC sold 68. 3% of JR-West in an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1996. JRTT offered all of its shares in JR-West to the public in an international IPO in 2004, JR-West is now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nagoya Stock Exchange, Osaka Securities Exchange and the Fukuoka Stock Exchange

10.
Japan National Route 1
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National Route 1 is a major highway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It connects Chūō, Tokyo in the Kantō region with the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region and it follows the old Tōkaidō westward from Tokyo to Kyoto, and the old Kyo Kaidō from there to Osaka. Between Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture it parallels the Tomei Expressway, from there to Mie Prefecture, the Higashimeihan Expressway, and from Shiga Prefecture to Osaka and its total length is 565.4 kilometres. At its eastern terminus in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, it meets National Routes 4,6,14,15,17, at its western terminus in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka, it links with Routes 2,25,26 and other highways. Route 1 links Tokyo to the important prefectural capitals of Yokohama, Shizuoka, Nagoya, Otsu, Kyoto, gokishichidō, the ancient highways of Japan

11.
Sumo
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The characters 相撲 literally mean striking one another. The sport originated in Japan, the country where it is practiced professionally. It is generally considered a gendai budō, but this definition is misleading, life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. In recent years, a number of controversies and scandals have rocked the sumo world, with an associated effect on its reputation. These have also affected the ability to attract new recruits. It was an important ritual at the court, where representatives of each province were ordered to attend the contest at the court. The contestants were required to pay for their travels themselves, the contest was known as sumai no sechie, or sumai party. Over the rest of Japanese recorded history, sumos popularity has changed according to the whims of its rulers, the form of wrestling combat changed gradually into one where the main aim in victory was to throw ones opponent. The concept of pushing ones opponent out of a defined area came some time later, at this point, wrestlers would wear loose loincloths rather than the much stiffer mawashi wrestling belts of today. During the Edo period, wrestlers would wear a fringed decorative apron called a kesho-mawashi during the match, most of the rest of the current forms within the sport developed in the early Edo period. Professional sumo roots trace back to the Edo period in Japan as a form of sporting entertainment, the original wrestlers were probably samurai, often rōnin, who needed to find an alternative form of income. Current professional sumo tournaments began in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine in 1684, western Japan also had its own sumo venues and tournaments in this period, with the most prominent center being in Osaka. Osaka sumo continued to the end of the Taishō period in 1926, for a short period after this, four tournaments were held a year, two tournaments in locations in western Japan such as Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, and two in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. From 1933 onward, tournaments were held almost exclusively in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, until the American occupation forces appropriated it, then, an alternate location, the Kuramae Kokugikan near Ryōgoku, was built for sumo. Also in this period, the Sumo Association began expanding to venues in western Japan again, reaching a total of six tournaments a year by 1958, in 1984, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan was rebuilt and sumo tournaments in Tokyo have been held there ever since. For example, a wrestler using an illegal technique automatically loses, a wrestler failing to show up for his bout also automatically loses. Matches consist solely of a round and often last only a few seconds. However, they can occasionally last for several minutes, each match is preceded by an elaborate ceremonial ritual

12.
Makuuchi
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Makuuchi or makunouchi is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers, ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments and this is the only division that is featured on NHKs standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their coverage, with only the makuuchi broadcast having bilingual English commentary. Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous, generally, a greater number of wins than losses results in a promotion, and the reverse results in demotion. There are stricter criteria for promotion to the top two ranks, which are also privileged when considered for demotion, at the top fixed positions of the division are the, titleholder or sanyaku ranks of yokozuna, ōzeki, sekiwake and komusubi. There are typically 8–12 sanyaku wrestlers, with the remainder, called maegashira, sanyaku literally means the three ranks, even though it actually comprises four ranks. The discrepancy arose because the yokozuna was traditionally regarded as an ōzeki with a license to wear a particular rope around his waist. In modern use sanyaku has a flexible definition. This is largely because the top two ranks of yokozuna and ōzeki have distinctive differences from the two ranks and from each other. Therefore, a reference to sanyaku can sometimes only the bottom three ranks, or in other cases only sekiwake and komusubi. There must be at least one sekiwake and komusubi on each side of the banzuke, although there is usually a yokozuna there is no requirement for one, and it has sometimes happened that no active yokozuna or no ōzeki were listed in the ranks. If there is more than one yokozuna but only one ōzeki, there is no recorded instance of there being fewer than two yokozuna and ōzeki in total. There are a number of privileges and responsibilities associated with the sanyaku ranks and they may be called on to represent all sumo wrestlers on certain occasions. For example, when the president of the Sumo Association makes a speech on the opening and closing days of a tournament. Similarly they may be called to assist in welcoming a VIP, such as the Emperor, the sanyaku can be split into two groups, The senior yokozuna and ōzeki, and junior sekiwake and komusubi. Senior yokozuna and ōzeki also have added responsibilities and they are expected to represent wrestler views to the Association, assist in advertising events and meet event sponsors. Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, the name literally means horizontal rope and comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the rope worn around the waist. The rope is similar to the used to mark off sacred areas in Shinto